Geyer



Dec. 31, 1963 P. GEYER THRUST BEARING Original Filed March 12, 1959 3Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR. PAUL GEYER ATTORNEY.

Dec. 31, 1963 P. GEYER Re. 25,505

THRUST BEARING Original Filed March 12, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INV R.PAUL GEY ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 0 25,505 TilRUST BEARING Paul Geycr, Detroit,Mich., assignor to United States Rubber Company, New York, N.Y., acorporation of New Jersey Original No. 2,970,868, dated Feb. 7, 1961,Ser. No.

798,911, Mar. 12, 1%). Application for reissue Feb. 6, 1963, Ser. No.258,104

7 Claims. (Cl. 308-3) Matter enclosed in heavy brackets appears in theoriginal patent but forms no part of this reissue specification; matterprinted in italics indicates the additions made by reissue.

This invention relates to a thrust bearing and, in particular, to athrust bearing which will permit small, relatively friction-freeadjustments in a direction at right angles to the direction of thethrust.

The bearing of the invention may be used to advantage in a variety ofapplications where small adjustments under heavy loads are required.Typical of the applications for which the bearing may be used arecalender roll mountings, machinery mountings, and bridge end mountlogs.

The bearing of the invention is particularly useful in a four rollcalender of the type having an oft-set roll. In such a calender, rubberstock is fed between the off-set roll and the top roll to form acontinuous sheet of rubber. This sheet of rubber is continuously fedwith a continuous sheet of fabric between the top and middle rolls tocalender the rubber onto the fabric. Adjustments in the nip or spacebetween the top and middle rolls to accommodate finished fabric gaugesplices in the fabric and other irregularities are commonly made byvertically moving the top roll. As the horizontal thrust on the top rollby reason of the rubber passing between the top roll and the oil-setroll is extremely high, the frictional force, particularly the initialor break-away force, resist ing vertical movement of the bearings of thetop roll in their slides is also extremely high so that binding of thebearings of the top roll occurs and vertical adjustment of the top rollis extremely dilficult. The use of roller bearings to decrease thisfriction has been unsuccessful, because the rollers under the extremelyhigh thrust load form pits in the polished steel thrust plates of theslides which results in increasing the coeflicient of friction.

One object of the present invention is to provide a thrust hearing whichwill withstand the high horizontal thrust exerted on the top roll withvery little deflection while allowing relatively easy verticaladjustment of the top roll. To accomplish this object, the thrustbearing of the present invention utilizes a layer of confined rubberwhich is substantially incompressible but which, on the other hand, iscapable of deformation in the shear direction. The thrust load isresisted by the hydrostatic pressure induced in the rubber which ismounted in such a manner that deflection must produce a volumetricchange in the rubber, while movement in the vertical direction or shearload is resisted only by the elastic deformation of the rubber in shear,while constant volume of the confined rubber is maintained. Inaccordance with the invention, a layer of the rubber is interposed andconfined between a plate and channel, fitted with suitable rocker platesso that the top and bottom of the bearing are moveable relative to eachother in a parallel direction. The thrust bearing so constructed isplaced behind each of the journal bearings of the top roll of thecalender. The horizontal thrust on the top roll is resisted by theconfined, substantially incompressible rubber between the plate andchannel, while adjustment of the top roll in the vertical direction maybe readily made by deformation of the rubber in shear. Thus the highinitial frictional force occurring in sliding bearings, commonlyreferred to as the break-away force, is not involved in the use of thethrust bearing of the instant invention and the difficulty in adjustmentand the wear inherent in the use of sliding or roller bearings iseliminated.

The bearing also provides a self-aligning feature. Calender rollsdeflect in service and have to bc crowned in order to produce a fiatsheet of rubber. The roll necks, which of necessity are smaller, add tothis deflection. The effect of this deflection on a calender bearing isto increase bearing pressure on the load side and decrease it on the farside. The rubber portion of the bearing of the present invention actssimilar to Water under hydrostatic pressure and equalizes the load. Therubber is redistributed about the centerline of the bearing, thuseffecting self-alignment while maintaining the original thickness at thecentcrline.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following description when read in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings wherein:

FlG. 1 is an elevational view of a four roll calender incorporatingthrust bearings in accordance with the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line IIII of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line IIl-llI of FIG.2,

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view showing the movement of the parts ofthe thrust bearing under vertical adjustment of: the top roll of thecalender,

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the thrust bearing with parts brokenaway to show the details of the bearing,

FIG. 6 is an elcvational view, partly in section, showing the free endof a bridge resting on the bearing of the invention to allow horizontalexpansion of the bridge,

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a modified form of the bearing of theinvention which provides for expansion or adjustment in two directions,and

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of still another modified form of the bearingof the invention.

Referring to the drawings, and in particular to FIG. 1. there is shown aconventional four roll calender, generally designated by the referencenumber 10, incorporating thrust bearings 11 constructed in accordancewith the present invention.

As best shown in FIG. 2, two thrust bearings 11 are provided, one behindeach of the two journal bearings 12 of the top roll 13. The thrustbearings 11 replace the conventional wear plates commonly provided insuch calenders and are held in place by bolts 14 which extend throughthe frame of the calender and thread into the thrust bearings 11.

The four roll calender is otherwise of conventional construction andincludes an oft-set roll 15 which is journaled at its ends in journalbearings 16, a middle roll 17 which is journaled at its ends in journalbearings 18 and a bottom roll 19 which is journaled at its ends injournal bearings 20.

The journal bearings of the top and bottom rolls are slidably mounted insuitable Ways 21 and 22. The journal of off-set roll 15 is slidablymounted in ways 23 and 24. Ways 23 and 24 may be provided with wearplates 23a and 2421.

Top roll 13 is adapted to be adjusted vertically to vary the nip orspace between it and middle roll it! by adjusting screws 25 which areconnected to the journal bearings 12. The screws 25 are adapted to he[lClllZllCL by conventional actuating l'nechnnisins 26 mounted on thetop of the frame of the calender. Off-set roll 15 is adapted to beadjusted horizontally to vary the nip or space between it and top roll13 by screws 27 which in turn are rotated or actuated by mechanisms 21roll 13 and olfet roll l and rubber to coat the bottom side of thefabric is slicctcd out between roll 17 and bottom roll 19. it will l e arprc ted that a tmeuts in the ni; or space between the top roll 13 andthe middle roll 7 by vert cal adjustments of the top roll 13 are i forfinished fabric gauge and to allow splices or other irrcgula es to passbetween the rolls and that these vertical fltljllfltillillii of the toproll l3 must he made while the journal bearings '12 are subjected to theextrc 5y high thrust lead imposed thereon by the rubber passing bct;.ecnoff-set roll and top roll 13. The thrust bearing of the inventionaccepts this thrur while allowing vertical adjustment of the top roll 13without encountering the ig'n initial frictional resistcr brc riwawayload which is encountereed in the use 1 bearings.

. g to 1 35i. 5. the thrust bearing ll includes a channel 29 and plate36 having a layer of rubber 31 inccn. The rubber layer 31 is confinedMel 29 and plate 3% on one side by 29b of the channel 29 and in theother to members 32 which can rock in grooves i tunnel 29 and plate 30to permit relative v i .i movcn'aent between the channel 29 and plate3%] and shear deformation of the layer or pads of rubber 31 in thedirection of the arrows in FIG. 5. The rocker connection between theplate members 32. and the parallel channel 29 and plate 30 isconveniently provided by forming tlmctaii slots 33 and 34 in the opposedfaces of 'iuicl 29 and plate 30 respectively into which the c .04. orthe plates 32 extend. This permits the plate 32 to rock or cock when thechannel 219 and plate 36 are moved relative to each other, and still notmechanically connect channel 29 and plate 30. This rocking movement canbe readily seen by comparison of H65. 3 and 4.

'l he grooves 33 and 34 are preferably made sufficiently deep to allowfor some compression of the rubber layer 31. v'hile rubber issubstantially incompressible, it can be compressed to a very slightextent under very high loads. The plate 30 is also made of suflicientthickness to extend above the outer surfaces of the flanges 29a and 29bso that the flanges do not take any of the compression load.

As previously described, the thrust bearing 11 is providcd in place ofconventional wear plates behind each of the journal bearings 12 of thetop roll 13 and are held in place by bolts 1% which thread into opening35 in the plate 29.

The rubber layer or pads 31 are made of relatively soft rubber so thatthey will deform readily in shear.

Good results have been obtained using a neoprene rubber having ahardness of 60, measured on a Shore Durometer (Scale A). it will beappreciated, of course, that various types of rubber having varioushardnesses may be used depending on the load conditions. The primaryconsideration is that the rubber flows readily under a shear load but isstill still" or hard enough that it Will not leak out of the seams ofthe joint of the hearing. A flexible bag filled with liquid can be usedin some applications.

The pads 31 are preferably bonded to the plates 29 and 30 to form anintegrated unit which may be easily handied.

Referring to FIG. 6 the thrust bearing 11 of the invention is shown usedas an end support for a bridge 36. 'l he bearing takes the place of theusual roller support. It will be apparent that the bearing will acceptthe high vertical thrust imposed by the bridge while allowing forthermal expansion of the bridge in the direction of the arrow in HS. 6.

Referring: to FiG. 7 there is shown a slightly modified form of bearingin v rlr two liei 2: ira and ib. similar to l e ing 11 previouslydescribed. are disposed at ri l'it ngles to each (71:12 to permitadjustments in two direclztris perpendicular to one another. Plates 38aand filth of l figs lla and lllb are elongated and secured togethersuitable bolts 37. The resulting bearing may be used as a m iincrymounting or for other uses where ad ustments in two directions aredesired. The portion indicated by the rct'crcnt-e numeral 33 representsone leg of a piece of mach nery.

Refer. to FEG. ll. there is shown another modification of the 1 'ng ofthe invention used to support a leg of a piece of rnmhinery. Thisbearing is also a. multiple unit for allowing. cspa sion of longequipment in one direction. in this modification top and bottom channels29d and 29c are bolted together and the leg 39 of the machine bolted toa common plate 39c between channels 29c and 2%.

From the above description it can be seen that there is provided a novelthrust hearing which will accept extremely high thrust loads such asthose imposed on the top roll of a four roll calender or by the end of abridge or heavy machin y and which at the same time will permit small adstincnts to be made relatively easily in a direction at ht angles to thedirection of thrust by shear deformation of the rubber layer or pads 31.While the term rubber has been used it will be appreciated that it hasbeen used in its generic sense to include natural rubber, syntheticrubber and other rubber-like materials.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to protectby Letters Patent is:

l. A thrust bearing comprising. a pair of spaced plates, a layer ofrubber interposed between said plates, means extending between saidplates for confining said rubber against lateral llow by thrust loadsapplied perpendicularly to said plates while allowing parallel movementof said plate: and shear deformation of said layer of rubber with outchanging volume by shear loads applied to the bearing.

2. A thrust bearing comprising. a pair of plates, a layer of rubberinterposed between said plates, wall members extending between saidplates for confining said rubber against a lateral flow by thrust loadsapplied perpendicularly to said plates. at least one set of opposingwall members having a rocking connection with said plates so as to allowrelative parallel movement of said plates and shear deformation of saidlayer of rubber without changing volume by shear forces applied to saidbearing.

3. A thrust bearing con'iprising. a pair of parallel substantiallyrectangular plates, a layer of rubber interposed between said plates,one of said plates having flanges on two sides thereof having slidingengagement with two opposed sides of the other plate to thereby confinesaid rubber against lateral flow in a direction perpendicular to saidflanges by thrust loads applied to said plates in a perpendiculardirection, plate members extending between said parallel plates and saidflanges in a direction perpent'licular to said flanges to therebyconfine said rubber against lateral iiow in a direction perpendicularthereto by thrust loads applied in a perpendicular direction to saidparallel plates, said plate members being pivoted in recesses in saidparallel plates to allow relative parallel movement of said parallelplates and shear deformation of said layer of rubber without changingvolume by shear forces applied to said bearing in one direction.

4. A thrust bearing comprising, a pair of parallel substantiallyrectangular plates. a layer of rubber interposed between said plates,one of said plates having flanges on two sides thereof having slidingengagement with two 0pposed sides of the other plate to thereby confinesaid rubber against lateral flow in a direction perpendicular to saidflanges by thrust loads applied to said plates in a perpendiculardirection, plate members extending between said parallel plates and saidflanges to thereby confine said rubber against lateral tlow in adirection perpendicu- 1111' thereto by thrust loads applied to saidparallel plates in a perpendicular direction, said plate membersextending into dovetailed grooves formed in the inner surfaces of saidparallel plates whereby said members may rock to allow relative ,arallclmovement of said parallel plates anll shear dciormsiion of said layer ofrubber Without A ing volume when shear loads are applied to said .i. Athrust bearing comprising: a pair of opposed rigid lard-bearing members;a yieldable, substantially incompre-sible ,ncdinm intergmsed between andseparating said Mi -bearing members; wall members, extending betweensata lone/bearing members, for confining said medium against flow frombetween said load-bearing members when id load-lx'aring members aresubjected to thrust loads (ted to force them together; said mediumfilling the space confined by said load-bearing members and said wellmembers; at least one opposed set of said Well members having rockingcrtinnections with said load-bearing members so as to permit relativemovement of said loadhearing members in a direction normal to saidthrust loads wi h mt change in volume of said medium confinedtherelwtn'cmv (i. A thrust bearing comprising: a pair of opposed rigidmembers; a yieldable, substantially incom- .ium interposed between andseparating said input-hearing members; wall members, extending betweensaid load-bearing members, for confining said medium ngnsinst flow frombetween said load-bearing members when said [mid-bearing members aresubjected to thrust loads directed to force them together; said mediumfilling the space confined by said load-bearing members and said irallmembers; one opposed pair of said wall members being parallel andpivotally mounted in recesses in said load-bearing members to permitrelative movement of said load-bearing members in a direction normal tosaid pivotally mounted wall members without change in volume of saidmedium confined therebetween.

7. A thrust bearing comprising: a pair of opposed rigid lotui-bearingmembers; a yieldable, substantially incompressible medium interposedbetween and separating said load-bearing members; rigid lateralconfining means, extending between said load-bearing members, forconfining said medium against flow from between said load-bearingmembers when said load-bearing members are subjected to thrust loadsdirected to force them together; said medium filling the space confinedby said load-bearing members and said lateral confining means; saidlateral confining means permitting relative parallel movement of saidload-bearing members normal to the direction of said thrust loadswit/tout change in volume of said medium t terposed therebetweenll'lillL simultaneously preventing any relative rotation of saidload-beariin; members.

References Cited in the file of this patent or the original patentUNITED STATES PATENTS

